April 2019
Happenings from
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
In preparation for the re-release of The Cades Cove Story by A. Randolph Shields, I ran across this tasty passage:

"After a winter with only stored, dried, and canned vegetables and fruits, the fresh wild greens of the spring were a welcome change... Most abundant of all, the wild leek, or ramp... Monday morning at school it was obvious who had been in the ramp patch that weekend, for the garlic-like odor of the uncooked ramps lingers on the breath for several days."

Of course, collecting ramps (pictured here courtesy of the NPS Archive, dated April 1936) is a no-no in the national park; further, over collecting has made the practice unsustainable in many areas outside the park boundary.
Back of Beyond authors' Q&A
By Frances Figart
Creative Services Director

Working with literary giants George Ellison and Janet McCue to edit their new book,  Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography , was like being a roadie for a dynamic singer-songwriter duo (imagine going on tour with Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell). George and Janet are so creative, so steeped in the literature of the Smokies region, and so attuned to all things Kephart that it was mesmerizing and magical to interact with them on a daily basis. 

As we anticipate the book being available in stores and on our website later this month, I interviewed the authors to learn more about how they came to write this 500-page Great Smoky Mountains Association title, which includes more than 80 historic images from park archives, the Horace Kephart Family Collection and other sources...  
Back of Beyond
Wildflowering with Tom Harrington
Click on the video to meet Tom Harrington, Volunteer-in-Park for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hiker, wildflower enthusiast and originator of GSMA's wildflower reports.

Videographer Valerie Polk followed Tom for a short distance along Chestnut Top Trail and found out how he got his start tracking what's blooming in the park. After over 30 years of chasing wildflowers, he is just as eager to see them as he was when he started.
Our Wildflower Report will continue to be updated with all that's blooming in the park from now until the first frost. Bookmark it and check back often.
Rescue training on Foothills Parkway
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials closed the section of the Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley last week to conduct a rescue training exercise. The training (as reported by WATE-TV in Knoxville, click on video to watch) provided search-and-rescue staff in the park and from cooperating agencies with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Foothills Parkway terrain and to practice high-angle rope rescue exercises.
Park, EBCI finalize agreement allowing sochan gathering
From NPS Reports

 Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians finalized a gathering agreement that allows the gathering of sochan (Rudbeckia laciniata) for traditional purposes by 36 permitted tribal members.

Park Superintendent Cassius Cash (pictured left) and Eastern Band Principal Chief Richard Sneed were joined by tribal council members as they signed the historic agreement at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on Monday, March 25.
 
“The signing of this agreement allows both governments to strike a better balance in honoring the rich Cherokee Indian traditions and also continuing to protect these very special resources for future generations,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash.
The park contains a rich abundance of consumable botanicals and fungi that continue to be an important component of Cherokee traditional diet and culture. The Cherokee have a well-defined history of sustainably harvesting edible plants through the application of traditional ecological knowledge. Through the Environmental Assessment process, managers determined there would be no significant impact resulting from sochan gathering by a limited number of permitted tribal members utilizing traditional gathering techniques.
Creature Feature
presents 'Plant Rant'
Text and Artwork
By Emma DuFort

Arbor Day is Friday, April 26, and by then, flowering dogwoods – named “America’s best-loved flowering tree” by  Horticulture   magazine – will be in bloom all over the Smokies.

Even when not flowering, these trees are easy to identify by their unique bark, broken into squares no larger than an inch wide. The origin of the name “dogwood” is somewhat ambiguous. One theory states that the name morphed from the Old English “dagwood,” with a “dag” referring to a dagger or arrowhead. The dogwood’s sturdy wood would have made it suitable for crafting such items.

Another possibility is that the name refers to the old practice of boiling dogwood bark to treat mange in dogs (modern science posits that the bark has little medicinal benefit, however).
by Emma DuFort
In addition to a feast for our eyes, dogwoods produce about 20 pounds of berries per tree, providing a valuable food source for birds. Dogwoods can be spotted all over the park under 3,000 feet in elevation, making Little River and Laurel Creek roads particularly gorgeous in mid- to late April.
Is that a warbler or a woodpecker?
By Logan Boldon
Quiz Master

Spring is in the air, and so are the birds! As migrants return to the Smokies, can you recognize them by sight and/or sound? Test your knowledge with this month's bird ID quiz! The use of field guides is permitted.

Our winner will be chosen at random from those who answer all 10 questions correctly by 5 p.m. Friday, April 12. That individual will receive a copy of GSMA's  Birds of the Smokies  field guide. Good luck!
Last month's winner of the Wildflowers of the Smokies quiz was Grazi Luhmann of North Carolina!
I had no idea!
Presidential Pets 
By Michael Aday
Librarian-Archivist
Collections Preservation Center
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The White House has been home to more pets than people over its long history. First Pets have included the commonplace, like Bo, President Obama’s Portuguese water dog, the Scottish terriers, English springer spaniel, and cat that President George W. Bush had. Bizarre and downright dangerous pets over the years include the zebra kept by Theodore Roosevelt and the alligator, a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette, that John Quincy Adams kept in a White House bathroom.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30 th president who served from 1923 to 1929, was a most prolific collector of animals. During his time in office he had 28 pets including dogs, cats, birds, a donkey, two raccoons, two lion cubs, a wallaby, a pygmy hippo, a black bear, and a bobcat named Smoky Bob, a gift from Col. David Chapman and the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association...
Col. David Chapman and the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association gifted this bobcat named Smoky Bob to U.S. President Calvin Coolidge in honor of his support and interest in the establishment of a national park in the Great Smoky Mountains.
In your next Smokies Life :
Animals crossing highways need the right of way
It’s a global issue that has reached a regional tipping point: there is a documented rise in motor vehicle collisions with wildlife throughout East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Due to increasing populations—both animal and human—as well as growing tourism in the area, it is expected that this situation will only get worse. 
 
When vehicles collide with bears, deer and now even elk crossing in and out of the park, both animal and human lives are at stake. The I-40 Pigeon River Gorge wildlife corridor—a 28-mile stretch of highway near the Smokies’ boundary—is a key focus area for a group of agencies and stakeholders collaborating to find solutions.

Their project is featured in an article called “Right of Way” by Frances Figart, GSMA’s director of interpretive products and services, in the spring issue of  Smokies Life — coming soon to GSMA members. 
 
To dig deeper into the problem, the public is invited to a Branch Out event Saturday, April 20, at 10 a.m., when Frances will introduce Jeff Hunter, senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, who will present and lead a panel discussion about this issue at The Strand at 38 North Main Street in Waynesville, NC.

Panelists speaking with Jeff include Steve Goodman, NPCA’s Volgenau wildlife research fellow; NPS biologist Bill Stiver; Liz Hilliard, a wildlife scientist with the nonprofit Wildlands Network; and Dave McHenry of N.C. Dept. of Transportation.
Our award-winning Smokies Life magazine is published twice a year and mailed free of charge to Great Smoky Mountains Association members as a benefit of membership. If you'd like to Get Rooted in the Smokies through a membership, please click HERE for more information.
Becoming a wildflower pilgrim
It only took the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage 69 years to catch the attention of the Public Lands Alliance, which named the event one of the year's most Outstanding Public Engagement programs. Currently at 85% registration capacity, now's the time to secure your spot.

If you haven’t been to the Pilgrimage for a while or have never attended, you should know this year's 69th annual event is full of brand new opportunities, including:
  • Parasites: Hidden biodiversity in the GSMNP
  • Stargazing at Clingmans Dome
  • Them Crazy Bones exhibit
  • Hikin’ for Lichens
  • Lichens at Night
  • Citizen Science training
  • Tour the GSMNP Natural History collections
  • Lost Grasslands of the GSMNP
  • Millipedes and Centipedes of the Park
  • And lots more!
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Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage organizers have been working hard to diversify and refresh this event. As such, there are also many new leaders for 2019. The evening speakers this year are Dr. Barbara Duncan, who will speak on Wildflower Folklore from Cherokee and Anglo-Appalachian Cultures,  and Dr. Cecil Frost, who will speak on  Wildflowers, Fire, and the Sixth Extinction . 
Little Sluice of Heaven
Laurel Falls Trail
By Elise Anderson
Kemp Writer in Residence

After attempting Ramsey Cascades as my first hike in the Smokies this year and turning around just ¾ mile shy of the top (wisely, or I’d have never made it back down), I decided to re-visit a classic for my second hike of the year: Laurel Falls. The 1.3-mile trail up to the waterfall is much easier than Ramsey Cascades, ranking at a difficulty level of 2 compared to Ramsey’s 12.

Because of the hike’s short length, easy, paved pathway, and the proximity of the trailhead to downtown Gatlinburg, TN, Laurel Falls is one of the most well-known and heavily trafficked trails in the Smokies. I remember picnicking at the falls many times as a child, but that was a long time ago, so I was curious how the trail might have changed over the years...
Elise Anderson photo. Follow our Kemp Writers in Residence Elise Anderson and Latria Graham on Instagram @GreatSmokiesWriter
Editor's Note: We call our hiking column Little Sluice of Heaven in honor of Dry Sluice Gap: Named for a small hollow or valley called a sluice, which has a spring-fed stream that sinks beneath the surface for several hundred yards before re-emerging. Hence, the upper part of the sluice is generally dry. - From   Place Names of the Smokies
GRITS Kids on Acorn Adventures
By Dana Murphy
Member Event Specialist

Everyday someone becomes a firefighter, a teacher, a trail-builder, a museum curator, and a park ranger. But before all that, they were kids who learned from exceptional educators about biology and history. These teachers, most would agree, opened their eyes to the beauty and wonder of natural areas.

That's why Great Smoky Mountains Association has partnered with longtime naturalist and educator Wanda DeWaard to create our Acorn Adventures. We invite kids 14 years and younger (with at least one chaperone in tow) to discover more about the Great Smoky Mountains now through October.

Play with us. Learn with us. Develop and strengthen outdoor skills. Find a new hobby. Enjoy observations and hands-on exploration of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Be a part of the next generation to preserve and protect this special place.

Most of all, kids who join these programs become GSMA Acorns. And what does an acorn need to grow? It needs to Get Rooted in the Smokies (GRITS!)
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1.    Be an Animal Track Detective! Animal tracking focuses us on being more aware. This experience will teach you to see more in the outdoor environment safely.
2.    What goes Bump in the Night? During your evening in the Smokies, you may hear different sounds, experience different smells and even witness bioluminescence as we move quietly about. You will be encouraged to listen to the sounds of the night while looking for nocturnal, winged hunters and insects.
3.    Lost! How to Prevent it for Families .  During this outing, your group will spend time exploring how to "lost-proof" yourself with simple planning and techniques to remain safe until you are found. Shelter ideas, water sources, water purification, fire building and how to build a basic survival kit are all options.
Grow your own
wildflower garden
Help our pollinators by planting your own wildflower garden. This collection of Wildflower Seeds from the Smoky Mountains has 12 annuals and perennials that bloom throughout the spring and summer. The seeds in this package cover 350 square feet.

Wildflowers of the Great Smokies
Yellow Lady's Slipper
adorns our spring mug
The artists at Deneen Pottery have done it again. They've created exclusively for Great Smoky Mountains National Park this high-quality mug featuring our very own Yellow Lady's Slippers, an orchid like none other!

The best (only) way to wear wildflowers from the Smokies
Just like on our park's forest floor, wildflower earrings will soon return to our visitor center bookstores and our website. Wearing these stylized designs of dogwood blossoms, blue phlox, turk's cap lilies and more show you understand the importance of leaving the real flowers here in the park for this and all future generation to admire.

Member Pricing

Member pricing above is based on a 15% discount offered to GSMA members at the entry level; additional discounts are available at higher membership levels.

Member discounts are not available on clearance items.
When using our website: A note for Members
When using our website, GSMA members have access to two login areas. Your membership portal sign in is separate from your web store sign in, which is found in the tan bar at the top of our website. Your membership portal sign in is found only after accessing these areas:
  • Membership Signup
  • Event Registration
  • Legacy Fund Donations
ALL sales of all ranger-approved products support the national park.
If you experience difficulty using our website, please EMAIL us and we'll do our best to help.
All purchases support the park!
Introducing
Curiosity Cabinet
By Peyton Proffitt
Member Program Specialist

Great Smoky Mountains National Park transferred its collection of more than 50,000 plant and animal specimens from the basement of Sugarlands Visitor Center to the newly constructed Twin Creeks Science and Education Center, a construction project made possible in part with funding provided by Great Smoky Mountains Association, more than 10 years ago.

At that time the collection included thousands of species of insects and plants, dozens of salamanders, bears, foxes, birds, and most other life known to exist in the park – all collected by scientists over the course of more than 70 years. The move to a 15,000-square-foot facility, with ample storage room for specimens and scientists, helped protect the already massive natural history collection and promote the expansion of that collection. Now, when a new species is discovered in the Smokies, park scientists record and inventory the specimen at Twin Creeks Science Center. 

I have had the opportunity to visit the collection a handful of times, and every time I go, I am stunned by the volume of specimens and the amount of knowledge each provides. Each species is assigned a drawer, folder, or container; in these small spaces, reviewers can clearly see the natural history of an entire species in the park. 

Once a month, I plan to visit to the natural history collection and open a drawer or cabinet at random. From these visits I’ll share with Cub Report readers all I learn about the species housed there. I’m calling this new collection of stories “Curiosity Cabinet.”

I am excited to share more about one of my favorite places in all the park, a single room where most known species can be found. I hope you enjoy and will send me your feedback as we go along.
Sugarlands Visitor Center in 1974 (above), where the park's entire natural history collection was housed until 2007, when it was moved to the newly constructed Twin Creeks Science Center (below).
Salamander specimen photo by Jessica Hill at Shutterfox Photography 
National Park Week
is April 20-28
Each day of National Park Week has a theme:

  • April 20 - Junior Ranger Day
  • April 21 - Military and Veteran Recognition Day
  • April 22 - Earth Day
  • April 23 - Transportation Tuesday
  • April 24 - Wild Wednesday
  • April 25 - Throwback Thursday
  • April 26 - Friendship Friday
  • April 27 - Bark Ranger Day
  • April 28 - Park Rx Day
Follow Great Smoky Mountains Association on Facebook and Instagram for our tribute to National Park Week as seen in the Smokies.
Hold your breath: It's Ramp Cornbread
By Latria Graham
Kemp Writer in Residence

When I heard about the Cub Report’s cooking column, I knew I wanted to spend part of my writer’s residency focusing on that. Food is such a powerful medium – it can conjure up memories, soothe a grief-stricken heart and communicate a hundred years of history – all in one meal.

Food is also an interesting way to get better acquainted with an area and culture that might be unfamiliar. I only live a couple of hours from the Smokies, but the terrain and flora are different, and I enjoyed my time “cooking through the land.”

For this month’s recipe, I picked up some corn meal from Great Smoky Mountains Association’s Foods of the Smokies , which I’ve since learned is ground at the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge, TN. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed creating it. I know I’ve only uncovered a snippet of what is here, and I look forward to exploring more in the summer months !

Note: It is illegal to pick, collect or harvest ramps (or any other plant, for that matter) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but the plant does grow outside the park boundary.  

I come from a family of farmers and, by extension, foragers. In college I went out with my classmates to pick sheep sorrel and fiddlehead ferns. My home region of South Carolina is better known for poke salad and pawpaws, and I always keep my eyes peeled for wild blackberries.

I tried to think of what grew wild in this region—something that I hadn’t picked before, so that I could use it as an opportunity to explore. I’d always heard
Latria Graham photo. Follow our Kemp Writers in Residence Elise Anderson and Latria Graham on Instagram @GreatSmokiesWriter
about ramps, the wild leeks of the mountains. In some areas it is still a bit early for ramps, and in a pinch you can substitute green onions and a pinch of minced garlic, but when you get ahold of fresh ramps, there’s nothing quite like them.

Ramp Cornbread

1 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 cups buttermilk
1 3/4 cups of cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup minced ramps or 3/4 cup green onions and 1 tbsp garlic

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. A dd butter to cast-iron skillet and insert it in the oven until the butter has melted and the skillet is hot, about 5-7 minutes. In the meantime, whisk egg and buttermilk together. In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together. Add cornmeal mixture to the egg and buttermilk batter in 1/4 cup increments until well incorporated. Add ramps to the mixture. Remove the skillet from the oven and pour batter into the pan—careful, it should sizzle. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Park Visitation
Great Smoky Mountains National Park welcomed a record 11,421,203 visitors in 2018. Who will 2019 bring to the Smokies?

January: 496,743
February: 430,560

Total So Far: 927,303
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Support Our Business Partners
Every business is important in the support of the Smokies. This month we travel to Douglas and Cherokee lakes to visit a longtime member of the Lookout League.

Smoky Mountain Lake Rentals marks a decade for support GSMA this year. One of the oldest vacation lodging companies in East Tennessee, they feature waterfront, lake view, lakefront and mountain cabins, cottages and chalets on Douglas Lake and Cherokee Lake.

All lake-front cabin rentals and Douglas Lake vacation rentals are just minutes from Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN.
Next time you're looking to stay on the lake while visiting the Smokies, contact this long time park partner first.

New Businesses
Look Rock Level ($250 annually)
Black Balsam Outdoors , Sylva, NC
The Inn on the River , Pigeon Forge, TN

Renewing Businesses
Cove Mountain Level ($1,000 annually)
First Tennessee Bank , Sevierville, TN (Year 4)
Shuckstack Level ($500 annually)
Parkside Cabins (Year 6)
Misty Mountain Soap Company (Year 3)

Look Rock Level ($250 annually)
Smoky Mountain Lake Rentals , Sevierville, TN (Year 10) 
Folkmanis Puppets , Emeryville, CA (Year 9)
Cabins USA , Sevierville, TN (Year 8)
Whistle Creek , Mammoth Spring, AR (Year 6)
Hemlock Inn , Bryson City, NC (Year 4) 
GSM Outfitters LLC , Sevierville, TN (Year 4)
Black River Architects , Cambridge, MA (Year 4)
Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Sylva, NC (Year 2)
If you own a business, please contact   Breckenridge@GSMAssoc.org to learn how your business can be part of the Great Smoky Mountains Association Lookout League.
Flash those pearly whites,
support your park
Great Smoky Mountains Association carries more than 6,000 products designed to enrich your relationship with this national park. We know, however, that we cannot supply you with everything you need. When that happens and you consider Googling your way to Amazon.com, add a SMILE to your URL window.
When you start with Smile.Amazon.com and choose to support GSMA, the online superstore will give .5% of your purchase back to Great Smoky Mountains Association.
Smokies Guide
The most recent issue of Smokies Guide , Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official park newspaper, is available to read online and can be mailed to you for free (S&H charges apply). Call 865.436.7318, Ext. 226 for mailing details.
Spring 2019
Our talented 'Cubbies'
Great Smoky Mountains Association's Cub Report e-newsletter is published on or about the last Wednesday of each month, with the exception of January.

Laurel Rematore, Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Duff, Cub Report Editor
_____

Writers and graphic contributors to this issue include Mike Aday, Elise Anderson, Logan Boldon, Emma DuFort, Frances Figart, Latria Graham, Karen Key, Charley Mathis, Breckenridge Morgan, Dana Murphy, Valerie Polk and Peyton Proffitt.
When you visit
In addition to our web store, Great Smoky Mountains Association operates 11 visitor contact stations in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including Mingus Mill near Oconaluftee Visitor Center. GSMA team members are available at most locations to help you find educational materials designed to enhance your park experience and deepen your appreciation for this special place.

Operated by GSMA and located a half-mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this historic grist mill, which will open its doors to the public again this month, uses a water-powered turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building. Located at its original site, Mingus Mill stands as a tribute to the test of time.


Great Smoky Mountains Association members save up to 20% at all Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitor center stores.

Save with our card when you visit other
national parks, too.
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